Sunday, December 15, 2013

Teacher Training Programs NOT
Preparing New Teachers in Classroom Management, and Zero Tolerance Procedures
for School Discipline Do not Work

Dear Colleagues,

As we remember the children and staff who lost
their lives at Sandy Hook Elementary School one year ago, and shudder at the
news of yet another school shooting in Colorado. . . the issue of school
safety, classroom discipline, and student self-management remains a pressing
concern for all of us.

Somewhat coincidentally, a new national
report and an article in the New York Times were both published this past
week--reminding us that our teachers are not largely prepared in the areas of
school safety and classroom management, and the zero tolerance policies
practiced by many schools are not working.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Relative to the report, the National Council on
Teacher Quality (NCTQ) examined materials from 122 university preparation
programs in 33 states as they evaluated teacher training in classroom
management.

Specifically, they look at whether these
programs taught the "big five" elements of classroom management: How
to set and teach (a) rules for classroom behavior, and (b) classroom routines;
and how to deliver (c) praise for good behavior, (d) consequences for
misbehavior, and (e) interesting lessons to maximize student engagement.

The Report concluded that:

* Most teacher colleges spend some
time on classroom-management techniques, but it's often incomplete, not based
on research, or not integrated into student teaching experiences.

* The programs analyzed averaged only
eight class periods on classroom management, and only 17% of the programs
addressed all five of the areas above.

* 74% of the programs did not teach their
teachers how to use praise and rewards.

Thus, if these university training programs are representative of those across
the country--and we believe that they are--most new teachers are largely
unprepared in the areas of discipline, classroom management, and student
self-management.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

The New York Times article reported that
schools using zero tolerance approaches to student discipline have (a) largely
not decreased their student misbehavior rates, and instead (b) have increased
their student suspension and expulsion rates for minor, non-violent student offenses.
These suspensions and expulsions have disproportionately involved poor students
and students of color in many states across the country. And, this has
led to lower academic achievement and higher dropout rates especially among the
affected minority students.
The Times article goes on to profile a number of schools that have
used effective policies and practices involving positive behavioral services,
supports, strategies, and programs to significantly decrease the number and
intensity of different student discipline and behavior problems.

It is essential that we close the school
discipline, classroom management, and student self-management information and
skill gap that exists within the teaching community. Please feel free to
share our information with your colleagues, and education and community
leaders.

And please feel free to contact me by
e-mail if I can help you on-site as you work to develop the best, most
effective PBIS/PBSS or school-wide discipline and classroom management system
for your students, colleagues, and school(s).

Meanwhile, THANKS
for all that you do. Best wishes during this holiday season ! !
!

Connecting with Howie

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About Me

Howard M. Knoff, Ph.D. is the creator and Director of Project ACHIEVE.After 22 years as a university professor and over 12 years as a federal grant director for a state department of education, he continues his national work as a full-time national consultant, author, and presenter.

Dr. Knoff is recognized nationwide as an expert in the following areas:

·School Improvement and
Turn-Around, Strategic Planning and Organizational Development

·Differentiated Academic
Instruction and Academic Interventions for Struggling Students

·Social, Emotional, and
Behavioral Instruction and Strategic and Intensive Interventions for Challenging
Students

·Multi-tiered (RtI)
Services, Supports, and Program

·Effective Professional
Development and On-Site Consultation and Technical Assistance

From 2003 through 2015, he was the Director of the federally-funded State Improvement Grant (SIG; 2003-2009) which then became the State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG; 2009-2015) for the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE). These grants funded the state-wide scale-up of Project ACHIEVE--especially its school improvement, positive behavioral support, and multi-tiered RtI service system components. Through the ADE's Elementary and Secondary Education Act flexibility process, Project ACHIEVE was the state's school improvement model for all Focus schools.

Prior to that, Dr. Knoff was a Professor of School Psychology at the University of South Florida (USF, Tampa, FL) for 18 years, and Director of its School Psychology Program for 12 years. He also was the creator and Director of the Institute for School Reform, Integrated Services, and Child Mental Health and Educational Policy at USF, and was instrumental in leading the program to the accreditation of its doctoral program by the American Psychological Association.

Project ACHIEVE is a nationally-recognized school
effectiveness/school improvement program that has been designated a National
Model Prevention Program by the U. S. Department of Health & Human
Service’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
(SAMHSA).Over the past 30 years, Howie
has implemented Project ACHIEVE components in thousands of schools or school
districts—training in every state in the country.He has also been awarded over $21 million in
federal, state, or foundation grants for this work, and recently received two
School Climate Transformation grants and one Elementary and Secondary
Counseling grant from the federal government to support work in Pennsylvania,
Michigan, and Kentucky.

Dr. Knoff received his Ph.D. degree from
Syracuse University in 1980, and has worked as a practitioner, consultant,
licensed private psychologist, and university professor since 1978.Dr. Knoff is widely respected for his
research and writing on school reform and organizational change, consultation
and intervention processes, social skills and behavior management training,
Response-to-Intervention, and professional issues.

He has authored or co-authored 18 books,
published over 100 articles and book chapters, and delivered over 1,000 papers
and workshops nationally—including the Stop & Think Social Skills
Program (preschool through middle school editions) and the Stop &
Think Parent Book:A Guide to Children’s
Good Behavior through Cambium Learning/Sopris West Publishers and Project
ACHIEVE Press, respectively.

Dr. Knoff has a long history of working
with schools, districts, and community and state agencies and
organizations.For example, he has consulted with a number of state departments of
education, the Department of Defense Dependents School District during Desert
Storm in 1991, and the Southern Poverty Law Center.He has also served as an expert witness in
federal court five times, in addition to working on many other state and local
cases—largely for legal advocacy firms who are representing special education
and other students in need.

Specific to
school safety issues, Dr. Knoff was on the writing team that helped produce Early
Warning, Timely Response:A Guide to
Safe Schools, the document commissioned by President Clinton that was sent
to every school in the country in the Fall of 1998; and he participated in a
review capacity on the follow-up document, Safeguarding our Children: An
Action Guide.

A recipient of the Lightner Witmer Award
from the American Psychological Association's School Psychology Division for
early career contributions in 1990, and over $21 million in external grants
during his career, Dr. Knoff is a Fellow
of the American Psychological Association (School Psychology Division), a Nationally
Certified School Psychologist, a Licensed Psychologist in Arkansas, and he has
been trained in both crisis intervention and mediation processes.Frequently
interviewed in all areas of the media, Dr. Knoff has been on the NBC Nightly
News, numerous television and radio talk shows, and he was highlighted on an
ABC News' 20/20 program on "Being Teased, Taunted, and
Bullied."

Finally, Dr. Knoff was the 21st President of the National Association of
School Psychologists which now represents more than 25,000 school psychologists
nationwide. He is constantly sought after for his expertise in a wide variety of school,
psychological, and other professional issues. You can e-mail him at: knoffprojectachieve@earthlink.net